MOLAD: Destiny's Edge
by The Light's Refrain
Summary: The bonds of friendship are unbreakable, they say. Is that true? This hasn't been the case for Sora, who is more than aware of just how easily everything can be shattered. Prologue to MOLAD: Breaking Light.
1. Prologue: Why?

_Hi! This is the prologue to a larger fic I will post once I'm done with this one. It is has six chapters, including the prologue. MOLAD stands for Masters of Light and Darkness, something that will be cleared up shortly. _

_I completed both of these fics at least half a year ago, so updates shouldn't be a problem, as long as I get reviews ._

_Okay, first: I started this fic before I played/finished CoM, so there are many things that don't quite match up now. Therefore, I declare this AU, for reasons soon to be obvious._

_Since I began this a year ago, I know that this isn't the best-written story ever. This first chapter, despite editing, is still awkward, I know. Don't worry, though, it gets better._

_Well, story time! _

**Prologue: Why?**

_"Light depends on Darkness  
Darkness depends on Light  
One cannot be without the other  
So both will always need to be  
Or there will be nothing"_

_-Quote from me, randomly trying to make something to start the story with _

"C'mon, Sora, let's go!" Kairi shouted as she waved to him from across the beach.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Sora yelled as he dashed across the shores of Destiny Island. He was soon joined by Riku.

"Hurry up, Sora. We don't have that much time left." Riku reminded him.

"Oh yeah," Sora thought gloomily. Leon was coming tonight to pick him up. The only reason he and Riku weren't fighting Heartless on other planets right now is that Sora was recuperating from injuries from a particularly rough battle with hundreds of Heartless. Riku was here to make sure that none of these lost ones would try to attack Sora in his weakened state. Now that he had recovered, it was time to go back to planet hopping and Heartless slaughtering.

Sora felt a strange pulse in his heart. He knew this feeling and it only made him remember that power inside of him, that power he wanted nothing to do with.

Halfway there, Riku stopped in his tracks and whipped out his Keyblade. It was called the Angel's Whisper, and it was semi-transparent with milky white swirls underneath the crystalline surface. A yellow ribbon was tied to its handle. "Why don't we have a little duel before we go back to being the Heartless Extermination Service?" he asked with a mischievous smile. 

"Riku! He-" Kairi began to protest.

"Relax, Kairi. It's not like we're going to try to kill each other," Sora said casually. "Besides, a little warm-up before fighting endless waves of Heartless sounds good to me." He looked at Riku. "Just none of that special power stuff you've have now, got it?" Sora pulled out his Ultima Weapon Keyblade and got into a fighting stance.

"Fine," Riku shrugged, then lunged toward Sora.

Sora casually dodge rolled out of the way and behind Riku. "Missed me," Sora taunted and stuck out his tongue. Riku slashed behind him without looking, but Sora ducked out of the way. Then Sora thrusted his Keyblade at him, but Riku blocked and jumped high into the air. Riku brought his Keyblade over his head to strike Sora as he fell down from the sky, but Sora saw it coming and blocked it. Then the two of them go full rush at each other, blocking or evading each other's blows. Kairi watched all this with uncertainty, but soon the duel ended with Sora being the winner. Riku had a single cut on his arm where Sora's Keyblade had grazed him, while Sora had been untouched.

"Hey, you guys hungry?"

Sora and Riku spun around to see it was only their friend Tidus. After so many battles, the two of them were automatically on edge if something catches them off guard. They had been so wrapped up in their little match that they hadn't heard him coming. "We got peanut butter and jelly sandwiches up in the treehouse."

"Sure!" Sora answered as he began to mosey his way there.

Suddenly, Riku was surrounded by light. The light took shape and attached to his back, forming shimmering wings that glowed softly. Riku flapped his new wings to get slightly off the ground, then shot up like a bullet to the entrance to the treehouse. The wings dissipated, and he looked down at Sora with a sly grin.

Sora crossed his arms and smirked. "You're just lazy, you know that?" Then he and Kairi made their way to the treehouse.

_In the evening..._

Sora was resting against a palm tree, watching the last of the sunset fade away into darkness. Everyone else was inside. He began scanning the horizon for Leon's ship.

_"Majesty..."_ a quiet voice spoke.

Sora sat up at looked around. It took him a few moments it realize what it was .

He closed his eyes _"Yeah?"_

_"Is there anything you need?"_ he heard in his mind.

_"No,"_ he answered coldly. _"And what are you doing here anyway! I told you none of you are allowed here!"_

_"S-sorry, Majesty..."_ the voice said. _"I will leave now."_

From the corner of his eye, he saw a Wyvern lift itself from the treetops and soar over the ocean. It looked back at him, and he gave it an annoyed glare. The Wyvern slowly became smaller and smaller as it traveled over the horizon, until it was completely out of sight.

Sora stood up and sliced a nearby bush to pieces with his Keyblade.  
This did little to relieve his anger.

"Why the hell..." he growled under his breath "Why the hell am I chosen to rule the darkness?"

-----------

As Sora stared blankly out the small circular window of Leon's Gummi Ship, he thought about his newfound fate.

"Why AM I the Master of Darkness? I FIGHT darkness. I've ALWAYS fought darkness..."

"...Was it because I became a Heartless that one time? Maybe something didn't go right when I changed back. Then again, maybe it was because I was the Master of Darkness that I was able to change back in the first place..."

"...Or maybe the Organization did something to me to make me the Master of Darkness. After all, not even King Mickey knows what they're really capable of..."

"...But Aerith said that that no one could create the Master of Light or Darkness, that it just happened naturally..."

"...So is it because...my heart is dark, darker than anyone else's?"

"...But...I don't feel evil or ruthless or anything like that. Or am I just that cold?"

"Sora. Sooooorrrra," someone called out.

"Huh?"

"You still with us?" It was Donald, with Goofy right beside him. "You could've at least said hello to us earlier!"

"Oh, hey Donald, hey Goofy," he answered tiredly. "...Is my ship fixed yet?"

"Gwarsh, we're sorry, but we couldn't save it. That last battle was too much for it," Goofy replied. "But we built you an even better one! Ayhuck, wait 'til you see it!"

"That's cool," he responded "Are we there yet?"

"Two more hours," Goofy answered. "Destiny Islands is pretty far away from Traverse Town, ya know."

Sora sighed. "Yeah, thanks." Then he turned his head and began to stare out the window again. Donald and Goofy began to walk away toward the back of the ship. After they were a little ways down the hallway connecting the front of the ship to the rear, Sora overheard them talking.

"He's been like this for a month..." Donald said, not aware that Sora could still hear them.

"He's probably just tired. It's been pretty crazy lately, ayhuck..." Goofy replied

"But he's been on Destiny Islands for two weeks now! He should've gotten plenty of rest there!" Donald snapped back.

Then the conversation continued out of Sora's hearing range.

Sora sighed and again began to think about why his destiny was turning out like this. "Why am I Darkness? Why couldn't I be Light?.'

He already knew the answer to this question. Riku was Light, and only one person could be the Master of Light. Likewise, only one person could be the Master of Darkness, and that one person was him.

It had surprised everyone. There had been no doubt that he, Sora, was the Master of Light. But then there was a Heartless attack on Destiny Islands. Only Riku and Cid were there to help Kairi and the others. Everyone else, including him, were too far from Destiny Islands to make it there in time. But just when all seemed lost and Destiny Islands were going to fall to the Heartless, Riku unlocked the power within him. He broke the seal of darkness that had been created inside of him when had been corrupted, and unleashed the power of the Master of Light. The light surrounded him, the wings formed, and he wiped out the Heartless in seconds. The only Heartless left standing after this was a couple of Darksides, whom he swiftly felled with his newfound power. They never stood a chance.

Now he had to admit, he was a bit jealous when he heard the news and saw the power in action. But that didn't last too long and soon didn't think much of it except he had wanted to take down this Master of Darkness himself. Sometimes he felt a weird pulse in his body, but it never really worried him and after a while he barely noticed it.

Then, about a month later, it happened.

He was in the Coliseum, fighting in a tournament by himself, because the rules required it and Donald and Goofy had to accompany King Mickey for something. It was the final round, and he was facing off against Hades, who was foolish enough to try causing trouble while Sora was around. Things were ordinary enough at first. Slash up Hades, get fried, cast some Blizzaga spells, get fried, cast Curaga here and there, repeat in not necessary the same order, etc. But in the middle of the battle, everything changed.

It was strange, how he remembered things so clearly. Suddenly several great pulses of power when through him. Then darkness flared up around him. Some stray sparks of this power struck the benches and exploded, created small craters all around the stadium. Then the darkness attached to his back and took the shape of night black wings, with a dark smoky vapor billowing off them. His eyes had become golden, with pupils like slits.

This had surprised him more than everything else. After quite a few moments of utter silence from everyone, Sora decided to take advantage of this new form and began flying around, then rammed straight into Hades. This was quite effective, considering that it sent Hades straight into the other side of the stadium.

When Hades recovered, he had the strangest look on his face.

Hades stared at Sora for a few moments, then a defiant look sprang on his face.

"Oooooooooooooh no," Hades spoke "There is NO way, and I mean NO way, I'm taking orders from you." he said as he flared up his body for a few seconds.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Sora questioned. "I wouldn't let you join my side even if you begged me." He poised himself to strike.

Hades looked blankly at him for a moment, then laughter erupted from him.

"You-you really don't know who you are, do you!" Hades replied between bouts of laughter.

"What? Of course I do! I'm Sora the Keyblade Master," he answered as he put his Keyblade on his shoulders, now even more confused. Maybe he knocked something loose when he slammed him into the wall.

This only made Hades laugh even harder.

Fed up, Sora cast a Blizzaga spell at him. Only it wasn't a normal Blizzaga spell. Instead of being bluish-white, it was a shimmering black with a deep blue tint to it. The attack range was much wider as well. In fact, half of the stadium was encased in dark ice when the attack finally finished. Hades was frozen solid, all of his flames extinguished. Sora stared at his Keyblade, which still had black vapor rising from its tip.

Phil, the lone witness to this chaos, waddled up to Sora. "Great job, kid. You sure nailed Hades with...whatever that was back there."

"Don't ask me," Sora replied, surveying all the destruction he had caused. Looking back at his fuming wings, he added. "First time this happened too." Spreading out those onyx seraph wings, he said. "Well, the tournament's over, so I'm outta here." With a couple flaps, he raised high into the sky, and then darted away out of sight.

"Wow, this is incredible!" Sora exclaimed as he shot through the sky, doing barrel rolls and dives throughout the air. "This is way better than using happy thoughts!"

After a couple more hours, he decided to rest in the nearby woodland. As his feet kissed the ground, he let his wings dissipate into nothing. He could bring them out whenever he wanted; he didn't need to test this, he knew this by an instinct deep inside him, rooted in his heart.

As he rested against a tree, a Shadow crept out of the darkness. Sora lazily sliced the Shadow in half and watched it dissolve into the air. Another Shadow came out of hiding, and Sora tried to dice up this one too, but it evaded his Keyblade. It melted into the ground, resurfacing near Sora's leg. Sora was ready to wipe this lowly Shadow out of existence when it began to rub against his leg, much like a cat. Surprised, Sora jumped away onto a large rock and checked his leg. Three more Shadows emerged, but they didn't seem hostile; if anything, they seemed to like him.

"Oh god, you aren't people I know, are you?" Sora exclaimed, recalling when he was once a Shadow himself.

_"Majesty..."_

Sora spun his head around, then laid his gaze on the Shadows. _"Did they just...talk?"_

_"Yes..."_

_"Huh? How did they- Oh, I get it. Telepathy. But since when can I communicate with Heartless telepathically?"  
_  
_"It's because you're power has awakened, Majesty."_

Sora stared blankly at them. _"What power?"_

_"The power to command the darkness."_

Sora's stomach twisted. "Uh, you got the wrong guy. You see, I exterminate Heartless, not rule over them." He twirled his Keyblade and put it on his shoulders.

_"No, it is you, Majesty. We feel the power pulsing within your heart."_

"You're wrong," he growled, glaring at the Shadows below him. "YOU'RE WRONG!" With reflexes like a hawk, he swooped down on the Shadows and slaughtered them.

As the remains of the Shadows melted into the darkness, Sora plopped himself against a tree and tried to sort this all out.

_"Hades said that he refused to serve me, and those Shadows...they thought I was their leader or something. Why do all of forces of darkness think I'm on their side today?" _

He remained silent for a few seconds more.

_"Well..."  
_  
_Sora stood up and summoned his newfound wings, in all their dark glory. "These wings do look kind of sinister…But they're really not that different from Riku's. After all, they're just black instead of white and seem to favor darkness instead of-_

Then it hit him like a meteor. What Hades babbled about, the way the Shadows behaved, the black ice...it all made too much sense to be denied.

"No...no way..." Sora murmured, as he sank to the ground, the wings dissolving. He pulled his legs against his chest. "There's no way...I CAN'T BE DARKNESS!"

_And there you go! Hope you like. Chapters will come fast as long as you review. _

_Cya!_


	2. The Messanger

_Well, I see this story's real popular on here right now_

_XP_

_Oh well, that first part kinda sucked anyway, even with editing _

_As for GoH and Krazy, I'll be replying to your reviews soon _

_And because I forgot last time…._

_I DON'T OWN KINGDOM HEARTS! _

**Phase 1: The Messenger**

"Hey, Sora, you gonna stare out that window all day or what?"

"Huh?" Sora mumbled, before noticing that Riku was standing beside him. He looked out the window again and saw that they were now in Traverse Town.

"Everyone's waiting for you, you know," Riku added with a smirk.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Sora replied as he got out of his seat and followed Riku outside. Waiting for him was not only Leon, Donald, and Goofy, but also Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, and Cloud.

"Hey, guys," Sora answered casually. "What's new?"

"Well, we found a Darkside in Agrabah, but we took care of it," Cid answered as he lit a new cigarette. "Other than that, not much."

"Anything new on the Master of Darkness?" Riku asked.

Sora sighed. He knew he was gonna ask that.

"No, but we're keeping an eye out for that rascal," Cid replied.

"And when we do find him he'll take THIS, and THAT, and THIS..." Yuffie exclaimed as she did fancy jumps and throws with her huge shrunken. "And there won't be anything left of him." she said smugly.

"More like he'll wipe you off the face of the universe before you can even move," Cloud interrupted, putting his huge sword over his shoulder.

"WHAT! Yuffie yelled and jumped around a bit. "Oh, yeah, well Take THIS!" she shouted and flung her shuriken straight at Cloud.

Cloud lazily glanced at the weapon, then unfurled his two fully-grown bat wings, which had been hidden by his cape. With a few flaps he was well out of the range of the shuriken.

"No fair! Get down here!" she yelled as she began to jump from rooftop to rooftop to try to catch up with him.

Cid chuckled as he watched the scene unwind. Then he turned to Riku. "But I wouldn't worry about it. With you being the Master of Light and us to back you up, we'll blast that bastard out of existence." He cast down the burnt-out cigarette and stomped on it like that alone would kill this Master of Darkness.

"Yeah!" Riku answered

"Agreed!" Aerith replied

"Where is he, anyway? Let me at him! Let at him! QUAQUAQUAQUAQUAQUA!" Donald exclaimed, jumping around in his fighting pose, completely unaware that this Master of Darkness was right next to him.

Sora smiled and sighed quietly so the others wouldn't notice. If only they knew...

"You fools have no idea who the Master of Darkness is," a voice behind Sora spoke. Everyone spun around to see a man with spiky red hair in a black cloak. It was none other than Axel. "If you had a clue to who you were to go up against, you wouldn't be so eager to fight." He looked straight at Sora as he said this.

Sora glared back. "I have a bone to pick with you," he growled as he and Riku drew their Keyblades.

Axel crossed his arms and smirked. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You liar!" Sora exclaimed "You're the one who ambushed me the other day!"

"Whine, whine, whine," Axel teased. "I'd expected more from the Keyblade Master. For such a strong fighter, you sure were easy to defeat back there."

"That's because you and your friends ganged up on me when I was by myself!" Sora growled, taking his battle stance.

"What do you want?" Riku asked, also taking his fighting stance.

"Oh, I just thought you'd be interested to know who the Master of Darkness is," he replied casually. "But if you're not curious..."

Riku's eyes narrowed. "Why would you want to tell us?"

He shrugged. "I just thought you'd find his identity...interesting..." he responded, his eyes locked on the spiky-haired kid. "I'll give you a hint. He's on this very planet right now."

"What!" Riku exclaimed, whipping his head around in search of anything suspicious. "Where!"

"Why, he's right here," Axel answered with a mischievous grin on his face. "Certainly you've figured this out by now."

"Give us one reason why we should believe a word you say," Cid growled, preparing his spear.

"I don't care if you believe me or not," Axel replied. "It doesn't change the fact that it's the truth."

"Well, I've had enough of you for one day," Sora snapped and lunged at Axel.

Axel leisurely drifted out of the way. "But if you want to fight instead, that's fine too,'' he added as he summoned two intricately designed spiked discuses. "Bring it on!"

"Gladly!" Sora responded. "You still owe me a new gummi ship, anyway."

Axel summoned several pillars of flame that went straight for Sora and Riku. Sora dodge-rolled out of the way and Riku somehow managed to jump over them.

"Sora! What was that about?" Riku growled to Sora, barely audible.

"I don't trust him," Sora whispered back. "He's probably trying to send us off on a wild goose chase or something.''

"Well, you could've at least let him finish," Riku hissed back.

"What are you two talking about that's so much more important than our fight?" Axel asked as he threw his two spiked discs at the Keybladers. They evaded the discs, but Riku got nicked by one of them on their return trip to Axel.

"Ah, damn it," Riku muttered as he hurriedly tied a white cloth over the cut.

The others prepared to rush in, but Riku stopped them. "Don't worry. We can take him."

"Blizzaga!" he shouted as several ice crystals shot out of the tip of his Keyblade. Axel quickly floated away, the attack barely missing him as it froze a bench behind him.

"Blizzaga!" Sora yelled, as the spell burst out of his Keyblade. Axel was hit in the left side of his chest and went hurling into some crates, sending dust and debris into the air.

Before the dust could settle, Axel screamed "Firega!" A giant sphere of flame rocketed out of the dust-choked area and hit Sora straight on.

"Gak!" he cried out as the fireball slammed him into a wall, then dissimilated into nothing. 

"Sora!" Riku called out.

"I'm fine," Sora replied. "Curaga!" A fine green mist poured out of the Keyblade and swirled around him, easing his wounds.

Sora ran up to Riku and whispered. "You ready?"

"Yeah," Riku replied.

The two of them got into symmetric fighting poses.

Axel walked out of the remaining dust.

"Now!" Sora shouted. They sprinted towards Axel at the exact same speed. "Eyaaahh!" they yelled together and struck him with their Keyblades. Then he followed up with a coordinated chain of Keyblades strikes that end with a synchronized Blizzaga spell that knocked Axel against the wall.

Axel got up, dusted himself off, and chuckled. "How ironic," he said, shaking his head. Then he disappeared.

Riku lowered his Keyblade. "What was that about? He didn't even try to put up a fight."

"Yeah," Sora agreed.

"C'mon, he might still be here somewhere," Riku told the others.

They nodded and everyone went off in different directions.

As the allies parted ways, Sora turned his back, laid the Keyblade over his shoulder, and headed for Leon's old cave.

"_He acted like...he knew..."_ Sora thought as he ambled down the alley where Leon's cave was located. He blankly stared up at the hotel rooms above him. _"But how could he know? I've been so careful..."_

As he entered the cave and the space around him fell into shadow, the flutter of a dark cloak not too far ahead caught his eye. He rushed over and, sure enough, it was Axel. 

"Why, if it isn't **His Majesty**," Axel mocked, bowing down, then looking up with a taunting grin.

Sora froze for a moment, then regained his composure. "How you do you know about that?" he growled, his eyes narrowing.

"How could anyone not know about it?" Axel teased, proudly striding back and forth. "Once the word got out, it spread like the darkness itself. The path you were destined to follow has become quite well known now," he explained. "At least, it has among the followers of the dark."

Sora stood eerily silent.

"Shall I continue?"

Sora gave no response.

"Many are wondering why you're still hanging out with those losers," Axel went on, creating a image of Donald and Goofy, and a few others out of crimson flames, then snuffing them out. "Especially him," Axel added, summoning a flame-born image of Riku before crushing with his grip.

"I don't care what I'm supposed to be!" Sora shouted at him, squeezing his Keyblade tight. "I'll never chose to go on the side of darkness!"

"Who says you have a choice?" Axel stated. "You've been chosen by fate to be the Master of Darkness, and you have to carry out the path set before you."

"And what if I ignore fate's wishes?" Sora smirked, crossing his arms.

"Well, I suppose you could run," Axel answered, shrugging. "But you can't escape it. No matter how far you run, once day you'll have no choice but to accept your fate."

"I guess I'll just have to defeat fate then," Sora replied, smiling slightly. He turned around and began to walk out.

"They'll turn on you, you know," Axel said in an icy tone.

Sora stopped and turned his head back to glare at him, then continued walking away.

"Just in case you didn't know," Axel added, shrugging. Then he vanished into the air.

Sora never looked back as he exited the cave.

-------

Sora, Riku and the others were all gathered up at the First District.

"Any luck?" Riku asked, surveying his companions.

"Nope."

"Not really."

"No dice."

"What about you Sora?" Riku questioned.

Sora gazed at him and shook his head. "Nothing."

"Man, this sucks," Cid growled, flinging his cigarette to the ground and stomping on it.

"Cid, you've gone through a pack of cigarettes today," Aerith said. "I thought you said you'd stop smoking so much!"

"Meh," Cid replied, sticking yet another cigarette from a new pack into his mouth. "Well, anyway, if you guys see heads or tails of that bastard let me know." Then Cid proceeded to his workshop.

"Okay," everyone responded.

Sora yawned, stretching his arms. "Well, if you guys see him, I'll be at the hotel." He needed some time to cool off anyway.

_'But you can't escape it. No matter how far you run, one day you'll have no choice but to accept your fate.'  
_  
Sora shrugged.

"_I'll_ _never give in. No matter what fate has planned for me."_

_There you go. Tell me what you think. _

_Well, cya!_


	3. Uncertain Bonds

_Hi, I'm baaaack_

_Now that there are finally some reviews on here…_

_If I owned Kingdom Hearts, the majority of organizations members in COM would still be alive. But I don't, and, as far as a I know, they are still dead. _

**Phase 2: Uncertain Bonds**

It had been about a week since Axel showed his face to Sora and the others. There hadn't been a trace of him since.

Sora was with Donald and Goofy traveling in Wonderland, trying to find some leads on the Organization.

While walking through the forest of giant mushrooms and flowers, Donald seemed especially tense.

"What's the matter?" Sora questioned.

"Don't you find it strange, Sora?" Donald asked.

"Find what strange?" Sora replied, a bit confused.

"THAT WE'RE NOT BEING ATTACKED BY HEARTLESS!" Donald screamed at him, jumping up quite high into the air.

"Gawrsh, now that you mention it..." Goofy added, looking around to make sure, "I haven't seen a single Heartless since we got here."

"They're just scared of me, that's all," Sora remarked with a toothy smile. But he knew the truth, of course. They weren't going to attack their master.

He and the others had just entered the room with the huge table. Only, they weren't exactly together when they entered. Sora ended up on the ceiling, Donald was on the right wall, and Goofy was on the left wall.

"Huh?" Donald asked as he looked around and realized he was standing sideways. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?" Then he surveyed the room and found out Sora and Goofy were on completely different places than he was. "What are you guys doing over there!" he yelled.

"Gawrsh..." Goofy stated as he looked over at Donald having a fit, then and Sora who seemed more bewildered than anything else. "This didn't happen last time."

"This is Wonderland," Sora said dryly. "Since when does anything make sense here?" 

_"Not like anything been making sense lately..."_

"Allright guys, let's try going back through the door we came through and then go back through it again," Sora suggested. 

Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement.

With a little effort, they managed to reenter the door they came through. A few moments passed away, then Sora arrives through a door on the right side of the wall, Donald came through a door on the floor, and Goofy entered through a door on the ceiling.

They all scanned the area and only to discover that they were still on different sides of the room.

After they all did some grumbling and sighing, they exited through the doors they had come from. This time Sora was on the floor, Goofy was the right side of the wall, and Donald was on the ceiling. They glanced at each other, let their shoulders sag, and went back through the doors.

And so this went on for about an hour, until...

"QUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Donald screamed and jumped around in a frustrated fury. "This is pointless!"

Sora was back on the ceiling for the fifth time, Donald was on the left wall for the seventh time, and Goofy was on the floor for the first time.

"Yeah..." Sora replied, crossing his arms and staring at the floor, or ceiling, actually. "Look, I'll just meet up with you guys somewhere else in a little bit, okay?" he advised. "Maybe then we'll all have our feet on the ground by then."

"Sounds like a plan to me, ayuck," Goofy responded.

"Allright..." Donald replied.

"Well, see you guys later then," Sora said with a grin and went through the door on the other side of the ceiling.

When Sora set his foot outside of the door, he found himself in a dark wood. He approached an odd-looking patch of growth only to see it break up into several different fuzzy beings and run away. He ambled along a crimson carpet laid along the ground. Something landed on his shoulders and suddenly his vision seemed to be quite unfocused. When he lifted whatever it was off of him and his eyesight was normal. He took a look at the thing and saw it was a creature, shaped like a pair of glasses with a sharp point at the nosepiece. The part of it that would normally go behind the ears were its legs. Sora gently put it on a nearby branch and continued on his way along the crimson path. Along the way Sora saw many other crazy life forms. There were vultures that were much like umbrellas, a bird with a mirror as part of his head, and shoes that walked by themselves.

Eventually, Sora thought he might be reaching someplace brighter when he encountered the dog with a brush for a head. It was erasing the path before him, leaving not even a red speck to follow through the shadows. When Sora wouldn't move, it stopped, looked around him, and walked past him, wiping away the path he'd used to come this far.

Sora slumped down on a large rock nearby. "Ah, great. Now how am I going to get back?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Why are you so concerned about those fools?" a voice asked from the darkness around him.

Sora shot up and whipped his head around. "Where are you!" he asked angrily.

"Why, I'm right here," Pete answered, stepping out of the concealing shadows of the forest.

"I really ain't in the mood for you today, Pete," Sora growled, getting up with Keyblade in hand to face Pete. 

"Why do you want to fight me? I'm only your humble servant," Pete replied, backing away with a sheepish smile.

Sora eyes narrowed and he slowly relaxed his battle pose. "What do you mean?" Sora asked, though he already had a pretty good idea what he was talking about.

"Why? Why, because you're the Master of Darkness. What other reason do I need?" Pete responded, standing his ground.

"How about being my friend?" Sora hissed. "I have no interests in minions 'cause I have no interest in being the Master of Darkness."

"And what makes you think you can just turn down your destiny?" Pete asked

"'Cause I don't feel like being the Master of Darkness," Sora said. "And I don't want to fight against my friends." Sora turned his back on Pete and began to walk away.

Pete was silent for a moment. A sly grin snuck up on his face.

"What makes you think they'll want to be friends with you when they find out about that little secret of yours?" Pete questioned.

Sora stopped in his tracks.

"They'll turn on you, you know, when they find out," Pete continued, walking towards Sora. "Then they won't be so nice."

Sora said nothing.

"Oh, come now, you know it's gonna happen," Pete continued, pacing a bit. "So why do you keep hanging out with them?"

"They're my friends..." Sora said in dull tone, his eyes on the ground, his back still turned to Pete.

"But if they won't appreciate you for who you are, then how can they really be your friends?" Pete asked. "I mean, what good is a friendship if you have to hide the truth?"

"What do you know about friendship?" Sora growled.

"My apologies, I shouldn't question His Majesty's-"

"Shut up!" Sora snapped, swinging his Keyblade at Pete, missing him by only a few inches.

"If you want to be that way, fine!" Pete retorted. He walked away for quite a distance, pausing to yell "Once you've decided to face the facts, you can call me anytime!" Then he went out of Sora's sight.

Sora grumbled some as strolled quietly away in the other direction.

--------

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed as they rushed towards Sora, avoiding bumping into all the giant flowers.

"Hey guys!'' Sora shouted back as waved to them. "Over there!"

"Gawrsh, we were worried," Goofy added "When you didn't show up, we thought something might've happened to you."

"Oh, nah, I just got lost," Sora said with a grin, then he stared off into the distance.

"Sora?" Donald asked with a concerned look on his face.

"...Guys?"

"Yeah?" they both replied.

"You guys...you guys will always be my friends, right?" Sora asked quietly.

"Whaaaat?" Donald replied. "Of course we will!"

"No matter what?" Sora added.

"Of course no matter what!" Donald snapped back.

Sora smiled. "Just checking."

But as they made their way back to their Gummi ships, Sora still bore a worried look on his face.

_Well….there you go. Review please, unless you want to leave Sora hanging in anxiety forever. And you don't want that, do you?_

_Cya! _


	4. Stormy Forecast

_Hiya! Time for another update…or updart, depending on who you are XP_

**Phase 3: Stormy Forecast**

"You can't catch me! NAH NAH NA NAH NAH!" Sora taunted as he flew through Neverland's forest.

"Oh yeah?" Peter Pan teased back, closely following him. The two of then did fancy maneuvers to avoid running into tree branches and roots sticking way up out of the ground.

As Sora sliced through a vine that happened to be in his way, he shouted back at Peter "You can't catch me! You can't catch me! You can't-"

…As he ever-so-gracefully he tripped over a vine, lost his concentration, and fell into a pond. He sat up and spit out some water.

Peter laughed, tapping him on the shoulder. "Tag!" he yelled before he shot off through the trees.

Sora stood up, shook the water off of him, and went rushing after him.

As he emerged from the canopy, he saw a clouded sky, but no Peter. Then he noticed a silhouette that looked remarkably like the redhead lurking in a small cloud.

Sora smirked as he pointed his Keyblade at the cloud. "I see you," he announced as he released a small spark from the tip of his Keyblade.

"Ow!" Peter exclaimed as the spark found his hiding place. He poked his head out of the cloud. "Hey, that hurt, you know!" he added, a slightly annoyed look on his face.

Sora stuck out his tongue. "Tag! You're it!" he taunted and zipped off.

Peter chased after him, exiting the cloud so fast that it lost its shape.

Donald and Goofy were floating around lazily and chatting about how they finally had some time to relax. Sora rushed past them and sent Donald twirling like a top.

"Hey! Watch it!" Donald snapped once he stopped spinning, but Sora was already long gone. The fowl was just taking his bouncy fighting stance when Peter shot by, sending Donald spinning again.

Sora glanced behind him and smirked, then sped up. Peter slowly fell farther and farther behind as Sora went faster and faster. Eventually Sora rushed up into the thick layer of clouds, vanishing from sight. When Peter followed and surfaced on the other side, Sora was nowhere to be found.

"Sora! Hey Sora!" Peter cried out as he darted around aimlessly to see if he could find any sign of the Keyblade Master. "Sooooooora!" He dived into a cloud, then stuck his head out. "Sooooooooora!" Peter swam through the clouds like a dolphin. Finally, with a frustrated look on his face, he dived into the cloud once more, this time not coming back up. 

Sora eased his head through the clouds. With a sly smile, he eased his way back to the surface, under the sky full of stars, so clear.

Sora made himself comfortable on the clouds, admiring all the stars and all the worlds. "Well, let's see... that makes two for him and three for me," he thought, thinking about Peter's challenge.

_"I can lose you any day, but you'll never shake me."_ That was his challenge.

"Well, I guess I better go back down," Sora said to himself as he prepared to reenter the clouds below.

Suddenly, a black shackle with a matching chain came out of nowhere and clamped onto his wrist.

"Wha!" he exclaimed. Another shackle grabbed onto his other wrist. He summoned his Keyblade to his hand, but it too was snatched away by a chain. Then he looked behind him and saw the problem.

The shackles were part of a huge pirate ship that loomed over him. The sails matched the starry sky above, and the ship itself was painted a stark white that easily blended into the clouds below.

More shackles came from the ship and went straight for Sora, slithering and curving through the air like serpents. Two attached themselves to his ankles, and an especially large one closed around his neck. No matter how much he struggled and twisted, he couldn't break free of the shackles. As much as he resisted, Sora gradually got reeled in by the ship.

As Sora fought the pull, he heard a familiar laugh coming from the ship.

"Who would've thought that fishing for brats would be so much fun?" Captain Hook taunted as he watched Sora's strength wane.

Then everything seemed to give way and Sora went limp, panting for air as the ship continued to reel him in without struggle.

"Damn it..." Sora muttered as he was brought onto the ship by the chains. He was forced onto his knees before Hook.

"Welcome to my humble ship," Captain Hook said in a mocking tone, bowing to the chained Sora.

Sora glared daggers at Hook. He was yanked at more by the chains, forcing him to walk along with Hook. He saw that the chains were actually part of a Heartless he had never seen before. It had the appearance of a black dog with green eyes, but right above the shoulder blade of each leg was the beginning of the chain, with the tail being the biggest one.

"What do you think of my new pet?" Hook asked. "Created him myself. Far more useful than any crewman I ever had."

_"But if it's a Heartless..._. "_Then it should obey me. After all...I do rule the darkness now."_

His stomach turned with the mere thought of him accepting his fate.

He shook his head. _"No no No! It doesn't have to be like this! I won't give in! I won't give in!"_

"What's the matter, brat?" Hook sneered as they walked into the prisoner bay below. "You scared now that you can't use that Keyblade of yours?" They stopped in the middle of the hostage room.

"So, what are you gonna do to me?" Sora growled.

"Well, I'm going to bring you to the others," Hook explained. "Then we shall witness the fall of the Master of Light."

"Huh?" Sora asked, genuinely surprised. _"Doesn't he know?"_

"Certainly you're not that dense boy," Hook replied. "You've been a major pain in our side, Master of Light. Once the ruler of light is extinguished, darkness will rule all!"

Sora chuckled.

"_He really doesn't know."_

It was Hook's turn to glare daggers at Sora. "What's do you find so amusing about your demise, brat?"

Sora looked back up at Hook with a sly grin on his face. "Well, haven't you heard?"

"Heard what?" Hook questioned.

He closed his eyes. Dark sparks and black shadows danced around Sora, blowing out tiny holes in random places of the ship. The Heartless quickly released him in a panic. The darkness around him attached to his back, and the onyx seraph wings were created once again, soon smothered in their dark vapor. When Sora opened his eyes again, they were not deep blue but stark yellow with slits.

"I'm not the Master of Light," Sora replied. "I'm the Master of Darkness."

Hook stood flabbergasted. "B-b-b-ut h-how! You---your Keyblade- is-was destined for-"

"The Master of Light. Yeah, I know," Sora interrupted, examining his Keyblade, which had been returned to him by the Heartless. It was now engulfed in a dark blue and black aura. "But when Riku went to darkness-the side he was not meant to be on- it automatically went to the only other person who could weald its power--me. Later on Riku got the Keyblade I was supposed to have, since I had already tainted his a long while ago without even knowing it."

He looked back up at Hook. "But just because we're both on the side of darkness doesn't mean I have to like you."

And with that he thrusted his Keyblade up into the air as if he was stabbing an invisible creature hovering just above his head. A giant bolt of black electricity surged through the ship, causing it to tremble. An ungodly noise came from the ship itself. 'But I must say I like your ship. I think I'll just customize it a little."

Hook stared in horror as his pirate ship transformed before his eyes. The room in which they stood grew fleshier by the minute, as veins popped up out of nowhere and the room's color was changing from pure white to a deep maroon. Hook rushed outside of the room to the deck, Sora casually following behind. That's where Hook saw the most definite evidence of evolution.

The helm of the ship now bore a dragon's head. Not some wooden carving, a LIVING dragon's head that matched the ship's white body. With silver fangs and a proud crest of spikes adorned on its temple with a few more on the side of its cheeks, it sluggishly looked behind it to glare at Hook with its crimson eyes. Petrified, he managed to turn around just enough to see the starry sails going through the metamorphosis from mere pieces of cloth to three majestic sets of black wings with a few sparkles on them for a finishing touch. They tore themselves from the mast and reattached themselves on the sides of the ship.

"W-what are you doing!" Hook squeaked as he watched the ship sprout three pairs of legs. 

"Well, I thought it'd be more useful if the ship could...well ya know, think," Sora answered, shrugging naively. 

About to lose his mind, Hook looked at Sora, then at the ship mutating under his feet, then at the clouds below. Deciding that he had the best some chance of survival if he took the plunge, he leaped off the ship, disappearing into the cloud layer.

Sora stared for a few moments while the ship completed its metamorphosis, creating a protective coral-tinted bubble over the deck to make sure no unwanted guests could get on board. "Well now what should I call you?" he said aloud to the ship. The ship moaned something in response, which only Sora seemed to understand. 'Fine," he responded. "Black HeartBlood" it is."

Suddenly he heard his friends calling for him. "You just go hide yourself somewhere for now," he told the ship, returning to normal. Flying up to where the bubble was, a small hole formed, allowing him to rush outside to greet his friends so he could make up some spectacular story on how he had saved a world...again

_Okay, four down and two to go….I think. Actually, maybe just one, if I decide to combine the two. Either way, not much longer til this is done._

_Cya! _


	5. Waning Crescent

_There's the next chapter. I've decide to keep the two chapters separate, so there will be one more after this, and then I'll start posting MOLAD: Breaking Light, where the real fun begins._

_Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own KH. Otherwise…the Final Fantasy characters will be much more involved in the first KH, and there would be many more Disney worlds in the first one as well. _

_I think I forgot a couple of disclaimers somewhere…meh, you guys know better, right? _

_Now on with the story! _

**Phase 4: Waning Crescent**

Sora sulked in a hotel room in Traverse Town. He was supposed to be getting some shuteye, but his conscience allowed him none. Instead he just stared at the ceiling as thoughts raced through his mind.

He felt disgusted with himself. Not only was he accepting it, he was starting to feel proud of it. The very realization sent chills cruising up and down his spine.

So Axel had been right. He could run all he liked, but he'd always end up face to face with his fate.

He glanced out the window near his bed. Apparently Riku couldn't sleep a wink either, as he was leaning against one of Traverse Town's many lampposts, his arms crossed and his eyes wandering restlessly in search of anything that might look like it was affiliated with the force of darkness. So he had been lately, ever keeping his eyes open for this Master of Darkness he was supposed to slay.

But, what would he do, Sora wondered, if he found out that it was in fact him that now was fated to command the darkness? Would he reconsider his choice about bringing on the complete destruction of the Master of Darkness, or would he continue with everyone else's intricately laid out plan to end The Master of Darkness to wipe out all evil so the worlds would never again face peril?

Sora guessed that it would most likely be the latter, considered that was the choice that he himself made when Riku was possessed by Ansem. Even though he didn't want to fight Riku, he battled him anyway, determined to destroy him if that was what was required to defeat the darkness. The icy tranquil that enveloped him in that battle still sickened him to his day. 

_"They'll turn on you, you know."_ Those were Pete's words, as well as Axel's, and as much as he hated to admit it, those words ringed true. He severely doubted that Donald and Goofy would want to associate with him when they found out. They would just turn around and become Riku's guardians instead. Just like last time...

And what of Aerith, Yuffie, Cloud, and Leon? They certainly wouldn't take this news lightly. Leon never seemed to like him that much anyway...

And what about Kairi? What would she say when she found out?

He turned abruptly on his side, back towards the window. He didn't even what to think about that.

He sat up and looked back out the window at Riku, who hadn't moved an inch.

"That's it, then," Sora thought, his eyes narrowing. "Tomorrow, I'll end this."

It was early morning when Sora approached Riku in Traverse Town.

"Hey Riku," Sora shouted out, seeming as casual as ever.

"Yeah?" Riku asked, turning around.

'Well...I was thinking..." Sora began. "Why don't we go to Hollow Bastion to see if that ol' Master of Darkness is there? Since, well it's kinda consumed by darkness as it is?"

"Sounds good," Riku said, turning around and walking to his Gummi ship.

"Hey, I'm coming too!" Sora exclaimed indignantly.

"No Sora," Riku growled. 'It's my duty to take him down, not yours. Glory hog."

'Maybe so," Sora replied, putting his hands behind his head, smirking. 'But you'll never touch him if I'm not there."

'Oh really?" Riku challenged, smiling slyly. "Well allright you can come if you want, just don't get in my way." he teased.

And so both boarded their Gummi ships.

_Later at Hollow Bastion..._

As Riku and Sora searched the main hall for any sign of the commander of darkness's presence, Sora tried to settle his nerves with some random banter.

"Hey Riku?" Sora asked

"Yeah?" Riku answered.

"Wha'cha think The Master of Darkness looks like?" Sora asked, with a mischievous grin on his face.

Riku, caught a bit off guard by the question, shrugged. 'I dunno, a pure black Heartless towering over 50 feet and has darkness pouring out of his nostrils and spits black goo at you."

_How flattering._

"Well, I think...I think it's a HUGE ogre creature with three glowing crimson eyes that shoot out laser beams and eats planets for breakfast and galaxies for dinner and has toxic slime all over its body." He had plenty of exaggerated body motions to accompany his descriptions.

Riku laughed. "Oh yeah, I bet it has thousands of tentacles coming out of its gut."

"And I bet it has all these long green spines all over his body!"

'And I bet it can blow up whole planets with a single roar!"

"And I bet it can blow up whole galaxies with a single roar!"

"And I bet I can take it down no matter what it is!" Riku announced proudly.

"Yeah…" Sora nodded. "I'm sure you could."

The Keyblade Master said nothing else as he followed Riku upwards.

_A bit later at The Great Crest..._

'I don't sense anything here..." Riku stated as they admired the astonishing view.

_C'mon Riku, how can you NOT sense it? I'm right next to you!_

"Maybe there's something higher up," Sora suggested.

He began to walk away, but stopped "Riku?"

"Yeah?' 

"Do you think slaying The Master of Darkness...will truly end all evil?"

"I don't see why not," Riku replied. "Evil and Darkness are one, so killing the Master of Darkness is like killing the Master of Evil."

"But what if another Master of Darkness takes its place?" Sora added.

"Well..." Riku began. "Then I'll just kill every last one of them." he concluded proudly.

"No matter what they are?"

"I don't care if The Master of Darkness is a pink bunny, I'll kill it," Riku responded. "C'mon, Sora, let's go."

Sora shrugged. "Guess it makes sense."

_After all, it's what I would do too._

And so they continued to scale Hollow Bastion's heights.

_A little later at High Tower..._

Riku was about to go inside to the Lift Stop when Sora paused, staring out into the sky.

'What is it?" Riku asked.

"Hey Riku...' Sora began, his voice a little quiet. "No matter what, we'll always be friends, right?"

"Huh?" Riku asked, surprised. 'Of course we'll always be friends! Why would you even ask something like that!"

Sora turned around and showed him a big, goofy grin. 'Just checking. C'mon, let's get this over with." And with that he marched inside.

_At the Castle Chapel..._

Riku gave the darkened room a quick look-around, then shook his head. 'Nothing here. C'mon, let's go Sora."

But Sora didn't move. He simply stood upon the symbol on the middle of the floor, his eyes on the floor but not seeing anything.

"Sora?" Riku asked.

No reply, only a sad glance.

Riku crossed his arms. "What's with you, anyway? You've been acting screwy ever since we came here. What's your problem?"

After a few more moments of utter silence, Sora summoned Ultima Weapon to his hand. 'You ready?"

"Huh?"

Darkness and black electricity swirled around Sora. The darkness soon attached itself to his back, morphing into those coal-colored wings with black smoke billowing from them. His Keyblade soon was engulfed in a bluish black aura, and his eyes became more akin with a hawk's than with a human's.

Riku was petrified by shock as Sora metamorphosed into the very opponent he had been seeking all this time. "S-Sora! You're---------!"

When the transformation was done, Sora stared at Riku coolly and perched his Keyblade upon his shoulder. "So Riku," he spoke "You ready to fight The Master of Darkness?"

_Yes, an evil cliffhanger…I do those a lot XP. Well, that just means you'll have to come back to see what's next, right? R+R please!_


	6. Destiny's Edge

_Well, here we are! The last chapter of this particular story. Prepare for sheer chaos._

_Disclaimer:…..You know what I'm gonna say, aren't you…thought so…nope, don't own Digimon._

**Phase 5: Destiny's Edge**

A complete silence settled down on the room like a heavy dust as the last of the dark sparks faded away, as the two friends stared each other down, trying to accept what was about to happen.

"...So, it's been you all along," Riku finally stated, shattering the silence. He put on a small grin. 'I never would've guessed."

"Me neither," Sora replied casually, as if this was just yet another ordinary day at Destiny Islands, with nothing to do but to lounge around the white beach. "If someone had walked up to me three months ago and said I was The Master of Darkness, I would've chopped their head off."

More silence.

Riku shrugged. 'So much for that promise," he joked. Angel's Whisper appeared out of a swirl of light in his hand.

"Oh yeah...' Sora thought. "Oh well…"

After he and Riku fought in Hollow Bastion and everything reverted back to normal, Kairi had them make her a seemingly easy promise: They will never try to kill each other ever again. Playful brawls were fine, but battles of life and death were completely out of the question. They hadn't paid much thought to that since they had thought something like that would never come up again. After all, they had their fill of that in Hollow Bastion.

Then again, that promise didn't take into consideration the fact that Riku was destined to become The Master of Light while he Sora would be fated to take the role of the Master of Darkness, so that pretty much made the contract outdated, and therefore void.

Swirls of light circled around Riku, playing with his silver hair as if they still stood outside the treehouse on a windy day. The light then attached to his back, taking the form of those pure white wings that glowed softly, bringing just a little light into the shadowed chapel. His eyes had now turned a much paler blue, to the point where they were almost white.

When the transformation was completed, Riku stretched out his wings a little, preparing them for what was to come. "So...You ready Sora?" he asked, almost innocently, taking his battle stance.

'As ready as I'll ever be," Sora answered, echoing Riku's innocent tone. He also took his fighting pose, flexing out his dark seraph wings. "But just to let you know, this ain't anything personal. Even thought we're gonna fight each other, we're still friends, right?"

Riku shrugged, smiling just a little. "If you mean by still being friends that we don't absolutely hate each other's guts, then yeah, I guess so."

"Well, lets get this over with then," Sora announced. And with that he pointed his

Keyblade at Riku.

For an instant time had become frozen, like this little scene was nothing more of a crude drawing on that cave wall.

But, of course, that could never last.

"Firaga!" 

An orb of maroon-colored flame shot out at Riku, several tongues of fire whipping behind it. Riku evaded it with ease, and the fireball made a huge crater in the wall instead. "C'mon, that's the best you can do?" Riku taunted, flying up above Sora. "Firaga!"

Riku's fireball was white with some red at the very edges of the flames. Sora also dodged the fireball effortlessly, darting away to the left. Then, using his onyx seraph wings, he propelled himself straight into Riku. The sheer force behind the attack slammed Riku into the ceiling. But it seemed that light and darkness were not supposed to touch, as Sora was thrown back onto the floor with equal force.

"Heh...' Riku chuckled. He whacked Sora with the blunt end of his keyblade, then yelled "Blizzaga!"

A bluish-white ice blast erupted from the tip of Riku's Keyblade and scored a direct hit on Sora, sending him straight through the wall. Now he was drifting through the open sky that blanketed the castle. 

Sora regained control of his flight and straightened up, shaking off some ice crystals that had formed on him. "Fine if that's how you want to play. There's more room out here anyway." And with that he let a Blizzaga spell burst from his Keyblade in all its dark glory.

Riku deflected it away with his Keyblade, but it struck one of the pipes just outside the opening. The spell had cracked it and steam began to bleed out, obscuring the view.

Sora dived down to escape the feverish mist. 'Thundaga!" he screamed. Summoned black lightning dropped down from nowhere, though it seemed all of them make paid careful attention to make sure he didn't strike Sora. All that power carefully avoided him, as if he was shielded by an unseen power.

Riku wasn't so blessed, as Sora heard him cry out somewhere in the hot fog above. A few moments of silence passed, then the steam parted way for Riku as he swooped down and tackled Sora. Much like before, Sora ended up crashing into the wall of Hollow Bastion, but Riku was also sent high into the air spinning, having completely lost control of his flight.

As Sora got ready to charge headfirst into the fray again, several wyverns materialized beside him.

_Let us help you, Your Majesty. Let us help you fight The Master of Light._

Sora shook his head. "No, guys, I gotta do this on my own," he told them. Besides, even if he wanted them around they would be of no help. Riku didn't even have to swing his Keyblade to eradicate them. Hell, he didn't even have to touch a Heartless to exterminate it; simply being near it was enough. And that was when he was in his normal form.

"Hey, c'mon, you aren't giving up yet are you?" Riku teased from somewhere high above, where Sora couldn't quite tell.

Sora grinned. 'Of course not!" And with that he rocketed up through the sky, 'Riku, I haven't even gotten started yet!"

A white thunderbolt fell down from the sky, scoring a direct hit on Sora.

Riku swooped down from the clouds above, ready to slice Sora in half with his Keyblade. Sora recovered in time to block the blow with his own Keyblade.

"Blizzaga!" Sora exclaimed, striking Riku at point-blank range. He was sent sailing into the wall, right above The Grand Crest. "Graviga!" Sora yelled, and an invisible force slammed Riku down on the ledge.

Riku quickly got up and shook himself off. 'Aeroga!" he shouted, and a sphere of wind surrounded him. Sora did the same.

Riku tossed his Keyblade at Sora. Halfway on its way to Sora it caught fire.

"Firega Raid, huh?" Sora spoke, mowing just a little out of the way to dodge it. "Ha!" It took Sora a few moments to realize that it was coming back. "Whoa!" he quickly evaded it.

But Sora had had his eye on the keyblade and not Riku, who quickly took advantage of the opportunity by striking Sora with Graviga.

Sora felt the weight of the spell getting ready to pull him down, immediately recognizing the attack. "Ah crap...' Nothing was underneath him but the clouds, meaning it was going to be a loooooooong way down...

Then as if he had been yanked by a strong rope, he found himself falling faster and faster, unable to disobey gravity. It wasn't long until the Rising falls were in sight. He prepared to help soften the impact somewhat by crossing his arms in front of his face defensively. 'Man...this is gonna hurt..."

He crashed into the largest platform below, scaring up plenty of dust from the newly created crater. After the dust had settled some, Sora got up and rubbed his head a little. 'Ow..." Then he cast Curaga on himself. A forest green mist swirled around him, helping ease some of the pain.

Then Riku pummeled out of nowhere, slashing down and sinking his Keyblade into Sora's shoulder.

Sora sucked air between his teeth as some blood ran down his shoulder. "Nice shot,' he stated.

He did a low sweeping kick, knocking Riku off his feet. Then he swiped down with his Keyblade, but Riku managed to roll out of the way, receiving only a small cut on his arm. But as he sprang back up Sora sliced into his leg, leaving a nice large gash in it.

It was Riku's turn to suck air between his teeth. As blood flowed out of his leg, he flew up and started to cast Curega. 

But Sora struck him with Strike Raid as he prepared to cast the spell, this time striking his arm, leaving a considerable cut on it.

'Heh. Not bad...' Riku grumbled as he hastily wrapped his leg in piece of curtain that he'd obtained a little bit before the fight. Riku then fired several Blizzaga spells at Sora. Sora dodged most of them with ease, each one that missed him froze and shattered any platform they happened to land on. A couple of them did meet their target, though, and on top of that they managed to freeze him solid. It was only for a couple of seconds, but that was more than enough time for Riku to cast Curega on himself.

The second Sora broke free of the ice's grasp he shot three Firega spells at Riku. All missed Riku, but they went sailing past him to Hollow Bastion, where three explosions could be heard in the distance. 

Sora tried to slice at Riku's throat, but Riku avoided it and tried to chop off Sora's arm instead. Sora dodged the attack, flew around the Master of Light, and gave him a hard kick in the back. 

"Hey, Sora! You done fooling around yet?" Riku teased as he rubbed his back a little.

"Yeah, pretty much," Sora responded.

Then they lunged at each other, neither one the slight bit interested in losing this match.

The two of them collided with the force of meteors, sending white and black jolts of energy all over, shattering any platform they struck. Riku went hurling into the largest platform, destroying what was left of it. Sora slammed straight into his gummi ship, wrecking it beyond repair.

He got up and looked at it for a bit. "Oh well." Then he noticed three Firega spells heading his way. He evaded them in the nick of time.

BOOM! There went the remains of Sora's gummi ship.

BOOM! There went Riku's gummi ship.

BOOM! There went the cave wall that was right above the gummi ships, crumbling down on anything that might've survived the previous blasts.

"Nice work Riku," Sora teased.

"Meh," Riku replied, shrugging "You won't be needing a Gummi Ship where you're going."

He swooped down to Sora and sliced him in the arm, splattering blood over the cave ruins. Sora answered with a slash across Riku's chest. If Riku hadn't pulled back, Sora would've cut him clean in half. Sora was struck by several lightning bolts before Riku kicked him in the stomach. Then Riku found himself on the receiving end of two Firegas, followed up by a dark-altered version of Ragnarok. Riku countered by flying around Sora and kicking him in the back, then tackling him once more.

Sora was knocked all the way back to Hollow Bastion. As he saw Riku soon close in on him again, he charged at him and slashed him in the shoulder with his Keyblade before Riku could strike him.

From there it was an intense and brutal dancing of the Keyblades and their masters as they blocked, parried and evaded the other's moves. They twirled through the air, not noticing the clouds pass or the aura and sparks radiating off their bodies. They created mass destruction wherever they happened to land and didn't notice the many cuts the Aeroga barriers were causing with their sharp winds. They only noticed each other, as the Keyblades screamed through the air when they made their vicious swipes at one another. As their wings suffered injury as well, a storm of red down rained over the castle like snow and flower petals. There was no time to heal; if one paused for only a moment, the other would've gladly cut their heart out. 

Hollow Bastion moaned as it suffered hit after hit. The walls cracked, the ledges crumbled, the pipes broke into many shards, as all this extra debris fell down from the castle and into the white abyss of the clouds. Blood splashed over the weakening surface in random spots. No Heartless were in sight, as they were all hiding away in the deepest reaches of the former palace of Ansem. They may not have been that intelligent, but they had enough common sense to flee when an epic battle that threatened to eradicate any being foolish enough to go near its combatants, or to be out in the open. 

They rose above the Grand Crest, above the location of the Church Chapel, and even above the palace's highest tower, surpassing the height of Hollow Bastion, barely aware of just how high up they were. Then again, they didn't have time to admire the scenery. After all, they were trying to make sure they didn't get killed, and that's a rather good reason for them not to be concerned about their surroundings.

Then Sora and Riku separated from each other. It seemed they had enough of their jousting match.

Sora's Ultima Weapon began to glow black and crimson and Sora let it float out of his grasp. Sora held his hands out straight in front of him, and the Keyblade drifted into position right between them.

Riku's Angel's Whisper began to shine a soft blue and white. Using the Keyblade much like a fine-plumed pen, he drew an intricate symbol in the air, the light emitting from his Keyblade serving as the ink. 

An unworldly sound echoed from Sora's Keyblade as an orb of onyx-hued energy began to form at the tip. The Keyblade shook as if it itself feared the attack, but Sora showed no fear, only determination as he kept his eyes locked on Riku.

Riku was the same case. As he finished painting the emblem in the air, the symbol let out a high-pitched sound as it began to glow several hues. The noise got louder and louder as the symbol began to pulsate more and more frantically.

The sphere at the end of Sora's Keyblade began to grow in quick, sudden bursts.

The symbol Riku had created began to warp and twist erratically, like something was trying to rip it in two.

Both attacks commenced simultaneously.

A black, serpent-like dragon hatched from Sora's sphere, with gleaming ruby eyes and a smoky body that seemed to swallow the sky around it.

A phoenix with pale blue feathers and many long, wispy tail feathers erupted from the warping emblem, its eyes more blue than any ocean.

Both of these creatures were well over Riku's and Sora's size. In fact, they may have been about half the size of Hollow Bastion.

These beings of energy did not stay long, but they didn't need to. Instantly the creatures rushed to their targets. The dragon slammed into Riku, and the phoenix rammed into Sora. Almost immediately after their impact with their victims, they exploded giving off a colossal burst of power, easily capturing their targets in the massive blast. All of this happened in less than a couple of seconds.

As the mystic smoke still hung in the air from the eruption, two figures could be seen pummeling from the sky. One crashed into the tallest peak of Hollow Bastion, breaking the roof with ease, the other one dropped straight through the ceiling of the area just below the tallest peak. 

And after that, silence...

_NO this isn't done yet! XP_

_Well, this story is, but the overall plotline isn't. This will be continued in MOLAD: Breaking Light, which I'll soon start post. That one is really the main story: this ended up being something of a prequel. Well, review and you'll get the other story!_

_Cya!_


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